Neon Serverless Postgres Skill
progressive_disclosure: entry_point: summary: "Serverless Postgres with autoscaling, branching, and instant database provisioning" when_to_use: - "When needing serverless Postgres" - "When building edge and serverless apps" - "When implementing database branching for dev/staging" - "When using Drizzle, Prisma, or raw SQL" quick_start: - "Create project on Neon console" - "Get connection string" - "Connect with Drizzle/Prisma/pg" - "Deploy with Vercel/Netlify" token_estimate: entry: 75-90 full: 3800-4800
Core Concepts
Neon Architecture
- •Projects: Top-level container for databases and branches
- •Databases: Postgres databases within a project
- •Branches: Git-like database copies for development
- •Compute: Autoscaling Postgres instances
- •Storage: Separated from compute for instant branching
Key Features
- •Serverless: Pay-per-use, scales to zero
- •Branching: Instant database copies from any point in time
- •Autoscaling: Compute scales based on load
- •Instant Provisioning: Databases ready in seconds
- •Connection Pooling: Built-in PgBouncer support
Connection Strings
Standard Connection
bash
# Direct connection (for migrations, admin tasks) DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@ep-xxx.region.aws.neon.tech/dbname" # Pooled connection (for application queries) DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@ep-xxx.region.aws.neon.tech/dbname?sslmode=require"
Connection Pooling
bash
# PgBouncer pooled connection (recommended for serverless) DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@ep-xxx-pooler.region.aws.neon.tech/dbname?sslmode=require" # Direct connection for migrations DIRECT_URL="postgresql://user:password@ep-xxx.region.aws.neon.tech/dbname"
Drizzle ORM Integration
Setup
typescript
// drizzle.config.ts
import type { Config } from "drizzle-kit";
export default {
schema: "./src/db/schema.ts",
out: "./drizzle",
driver: "pg",
dbCredentials: {
connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL!,
},
} satisfies Config;
// src/db/index.ts
import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/neon-http";
import { neon } from "@neondatabase/serverless";
const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!);
export const db = drizzle(sql);
Schema Definition
typescript
// src/db/schema.ts
import { pgTable, serial, text, timestamp, varchar } from "drizzle-orm/pg-core";
export const users = pgTable("users", {
id: serial("id").primaryKey(),
name: varchar("name", { length: 255 }).notNull(),
email: varchar("email", { length: 255 }).notNull().unique(),
createdAt: timestamp("created_at").defaultNow(),
});
export const posts = pgTable("posts", {
id: serial("id").primaryKey(),
title: text("title").notNull(),
content: text("content"),
userId: serial("user_id").references(() => users.id),
createdAt: timestamp("created_at").defaultNow(),
});
Queries
typescript
import { db } from "./db";
import { users, posts } from "./db/schema";
import { eq } from "drizzle-orm";
// Insert
const newUser = await db.insert(users).values({
name: "John Doe",
email: "john@example.com",
}).returning();
// Query
const allUsers = await db.select().from(users);
// Join
const userPosts = await db
.select()
.from(posts)
.leftJoin(users, eq(posts.userId, users.id));
// Update
await db.update(users)
.set({ name: "Jane Doe" })
.where(eq(users.id, 1));
Migrations
bash
# Generate migration
npx drizzle-kit generate:pg
# Run migration (use direct connection)
npx drizzle-kit push:pg
# Or use custom script
# src/db/migrate.ts
import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/postgres-js";
import { migrate } from "drizzle-orm/postgres-js/migrator";
import postgres from "postgres";
const sql = postgres(process.env.DIRECT_URL!, { max: 1 });
const db = drizzle(sql);
await migrate(db, { migrationsFolder: "./drizzle" });
await sql.end();
Prisma Integration
Setup
prisma
// prisma/schema.prisma
generator client {
provider = "prisma-client-js"
}
datasource db {
provider = "postgresql"
url = env("DATABASE_URL")
directUrl = env("DIRECT_URL") // For migrations
}
model User {
id Int @id @default(autoincrement())
name String
email String @unique
posts Post[]
createdAt DateTime @default(now())
}
model Post {
id Int @id @default(autoincrement())
title String
content String?
userId Int
user User @relation(fields: [userId], references: [id])
createdAt DateTime @default(now())
}
Client Usage
typescript
import { PrismaClient } from "@prisma/client";
const prisma = new PrismaClient();
// Create
const user = await prisma.user.create({
data: {
name: "John Doe",
email: "john@example.com",
},
});
// Query with relations
const userWithPosts = await prisma.user.findUnique({
where: { id: 1 },
include: { posts: true },
});
// Transaction
await prisma.$transaction([
prisma.user.create({ data: { name: "User 1", email: "u1@example.com" } }),
prisma.user.create({ data: { name: "User 2", email: "u2@example.com" } }),
]);
Migrations
bash
# Create migration npx prisma migrate dev --name init # Deploy to production (uses DIRECT_URL) npx prisma migrate deploy # Generate client npx prisma generate
Node-Postgres (pg) Integration
Direct Connection
typescript
import { Pool } from "pg";
const pool = new Pool({
connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
ssl: { rejectUnauthorized: false },
});
// Query
const result = await pool.query("SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = $1", [
"john@example.com",
]);
// Transaction
const client = await pool.connect();
try {
await client.query("BEGIN");
await client.query("INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES ($1, $2)", [
"John",
"john@example.com",
]);
await client.query("COMMIT");
} catch (e) {
await client.query("ROLLBACK");
throw e;
} finally {
client.release();
}
Serverless Driver
typescript
import { neon, neonConfig } from "@neondatabase/serverless";
// Configure for edge runtime
neonConfig.fetchConnectionCache = true;
const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!);
// Execute query
const result = await sql`SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = ${email}`;
// Transactions
const [user] = await sql.transaction([
sql`INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES (${name}, ${email}) RETURNING *`,
sql`INSERT INTO audit_log (action) VALUES ('user_created')`,
]);
Database Branching
Branch Types
- •Main: Production branch
- •Development: Feature development
- •Preview: PR/deployment previews
- •Testing: QA and testing environments
Creating Branches
bash
# Via CLI
neonctl branches create --name dev --parent main
# Via API
curl -X POST https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/{project_id}/branches \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $NEON_API_KEY" \
-d '{"name": "dev", "parent_id": "main"}'
# Via Console
# Navigate to project → Branches → Create branch
Branch Workflows
Feature Development
bash
# 1. Create feature branch neonctl branches create --name feature/user-auth --parent dev # 2. Get connection string neonctl connection-string feature/user-auth # 3. Update .env.local DATABASE_URL="postgresql://...feature-user-auth..." # 4. Run migrations npm run migrate # 5. Develop and test # 6. Merge changes (via schema migration) # 7. Delete branch neonctl branches delete feature/user-auth
Preview Deployments
typescript
// vercel.json
{
"env": {
"DATABASE_URL": "@database-url-main"
},
"build": {
"env": {
"DATABASE_URL": "@database-url-preview"
}
}
}
// Create preview branch on deploy
// .github/workflows/preview.yml
- name: Create Neon Branch
run: |
BRANCH_NAME="preview-${{ github.event.number }}"
neonctl branches create --name $BRANCH_NAME --parent main
DATABASE_URL=$(neonctl connection-string $BRANCH_NAME)
echo "DATABASE_URL=$DATABASE_URL" >> $GITHUB_ENV
Point-in-Time Recovery
bash
# Create branch from specific timestamp neonctl branches create --name recovery \ --parent main \ --timestamp "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z" # Restore from branch neonctl branches reset main --from recovery
Vercel Integration
Automatic Setup
bash
# Install Vercel CLI npm i -g vercel # Link project vercel link # Add Neon integration vercel integration add neon # Vercel automatically: # - Creates main branch connection # - Creates preview branch per PR # - Sets DATABASE_URL environment variable
Manual Configuration
bash
# Add to Vercel project settings vercel env add DATABASE_URL # For preview branches vercel env add DATABASE_URL preview # For production vercel env add DATABASE_URL production
Next.js Integration
typescript
// app/api/users/route.ts
import { neon } from "@neondatabase/serverless";
export const runtime = "edge";
export async function GET() {
const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!);
const users = await sql`SELECT * FROM users`;
return Response.json(users);
}
// app/api/users/[id]/route.ts
export async function GET(
request: Request,
{ params }: { params: { id: string } }
) {
const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!);
const [user] = await sql`SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ${params.id}`;
if (!user) {
return new Response("Not found", { status: 404 });
}
return Response.json(user);
}
Connection Pooling
PgBouncer Pooling
typescript
// Use pooled connection for queries
const pooledDb = drizzle(neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!));
// Use direct connection for migrations
const directDb = drizzle(neon(process.env.DIRECT_URL!));
// package.json scripts
{
"scripts": {
"migrate": "DATABASE_URL=$DIRECT_URL drizzle-kit push:pg",
"dev": "next dev"
}
}
Connection Limits
typescript
// Configure pool size
import { Pool } from "pg";
const pool = new Pool({
connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
max: 20, // Max connections
idleTimeoutMillis: 30000,
connectionTimeoutMillis: 2000,
});
// For serverless, use Neon's serverless driver
import { neon } from "@neondatabase/serverless";
// Automatically handles connection pooling
Autoscaling and Compute
Compute Units
yaml
# Free Tier - 0.25 Compute Units (CU) - Scales to zero when idle - Shared compute # Pro Tier - 0.25 - 4 CU autoscaling - Configurable min/max - Dedicated compute
Configuration
bash
# Via CLI
neonctl set-compute --min 0.25 --max 2 --branch main
# Via API
curl -X PATCH https://console.neon.tech/api/v2/projects/{id}/branches/{branch_id} \
-d '{"compute": {"min_cu": 0.25, "max_cu": 2}}'
Autoscaling Strategy
typescript
// Development: Scale to zero
// min: 0.25 CU, max: 1 CU
// Staging: Minimal baseline
// min: 0.5 CU, max: 2 CU
// Production: Always-on baseline
// min: 1 CU, max: 4 CU
// Configure per branch
const computeConfig = {
dev: { min: 0.25, max: 1 },
staging: { min: 0.5, max: 2 },
main: { min: 1, max: 4 },
};
Read Replicas
Setup
bash
# Create read replica neonctl read-replica create --branch main --region us-east-1 # Get connection string neonctl connection-string --replica
Usage Pattern
typescript
// Write to primary
const writeDb = drizzle(neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!));
// Read from replica
const readDb = drizzle(neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL_REPLICA!));
// Application logic
async function getUser(id: number) {
return await readDb.select().from(users).where(eq(users.id, id));
}
async function updateUser(id: number, data: any) {
return await writeDb.update(users).set(data).where(eq(users.id, id));
}
// Load balancing
const replicas = [
process.env.DATABASE_URL_REPLICA_1!,
process.env.DATABASE_URL_REPLICA_2!,
];
function getReadConnection() {
const url = replicas[Math.floor(Math.random() * replicas.length)];
return drizzle(neon(url));
}
CLI Usage
Installation
bash
npm install -g neonctl # Or use npx npx neonctl --help
Common Commands
bash
# Authentication neonctl auth # List projects neonctl projects list # Create project neonctl projects create --name my-app # List branches neonctl branches list # Create branch neonctl branches create --name dev --parent main # Get connection string neonctl connection-string main # Database operations neonctl databases create --name analytics neonctl databases list # Compute settings neonctl set-compute --min 0.5 --max 2 # Delete branch neonctl branches delete dev
Migration Strategies
Drizzle Migrations
typescript
// drizzle/migrate.ts
import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/postgres-js";
import { migrate } from "drizzle-orm/postgres-js/migrator";
import postgres from "postgres";
const runMigrations = async () => {
const connection = postgres(process.env.DIRECT_URL!, { max: 1 });
const db = drizzle(connection);
console.log("Running migrations...");
await migrate(db, { migrationsFolder: "./drizzle" });
console.log("Migrations complete!");
await connection.end();
};
runMigrations();
Prisma Migrations
bash
# Development npx prisma migrate dev --name add_users_table # Production (uses DIRECT_URL) npx prisma migrate deploy # Reset database (dev only) npx prisma migrate reset
Zero-Downtime Migrations
sql
-- 1. Add new column (nullable) ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN new_email VARCHAR(255); -- 2. Backfill data UPDATE users SET new_email = email; -- 3. Make non-nullable (after verification) ALTER TABLE users ALTER COLUMN new_email SET NOT NULL; -- 4. Drop old column ALTER TABLE users DROP COLUMN email; -- 5. Rename column ALTER TABLE users RENAME COLUMN new_email TO email;
Branch-Based Migrations
bash
# 1. Create migration branch neonctl branches create --name migration/add-index --parent main # 2. Test migration on branch DATABASE_URL=$(neonctl connection-string migration/add-index) \ npm run migrate # 3. Verify on branch DATABASE_URL=$(neonctl connection-string migration/add-index) \ npm run test # 4. Apply to main npm run migrate:production # 5. Delete migration branch neonctl branches delete migration/add-index
Best Practices
Serverless Optimization
typescript
// ✅ Use Neon serverless driver for edge
import { neon } from "@neondatabase/serverless";
const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!);
// ✅ Enable connection caching
import { neonConfig } from "@neondatabase/serverless";
neonConfig.fetchConnectionCache = true;
// ✅ Use pooled connections
const pooledUrl = process.env.DATABASE_URL; // -pooler endpoint
// ❌ Don't use standard pg in edge runtime
// import { Pool } from "pg"; // Won't work in edge
Connection Management
typescript
// ✅ Reuse connections in serverless
let cachedDb: ReturnType<typeof drizzle> | null = null;
function getDb() {
if (!cachedDb) {
const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!);
cachedDb = drizzle(sql);
}
return cachedDb;
}
// ✅ Use transactions for consistency
await db.transaction(async (tx) => {
await tx.insert(users).values({ name: "John" });
await tx.insert(auditLog).values({ action: "user_created" });
});
// ❌ Don't forget to close pools in long-running processes
// await pool.end();
Branch Strategy
yaml
Environments: main: Production data staging: Pre-production testing dev: Shared development feature/*: Individual features preview/*: PR previews (auto-created) Lifecycle: - Create from parent on feature start - Run migrations independently - Test thoroughly - Merge schema changes - Delete after feature completion
Cost Optimization
typescript
// Development: Scale to zero // - min_cu: 0.25 // - Suspend after 5 minutes idle // Staging: Minimal always-on // - min_cu: 0.5 // - Reduce during off-hours // Production: Right-size baseline // - min_cu: Based on traffic patterns // - max_cu: Handle peak load // Branch cleanup // Delete unused preview branches after PR merge
Environment Variables
Required Variables
bash
# Neon connection strings DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@ep-xxx-pooler.region.aws.neon.tech/db?sslmode=require" DIRECT_URL="postgresql://user:pass@ep-xxx.region.aws.neon.tech/db?sslmode=require" # API access (for CLI/automation) NEON_API_KEY="your_api_key" # Project configuration NEON_PROJECT_ID="your_project_id"
Multi-Environment Setup
bash
# .env.local (development) DATABASE_URL="postgresql://...dev-branch..." # .env.staging DATABASE_URL="postgresql://...staging-branch..." # .env.production (via Vercel) DATABASE_URL="postgresql://...main-branch..."
Common Patterns
API Route with Caching
typescript
import { neon } from "@neondatabase/serverless";
export const runtime = "edge";
export async function GET() {
const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!);
const users = await sql`SELECT * FROM users ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 10`;
return Response.json(users, {
headers: {
"Cache-Control": "s-maxage=60, stale-while-revalidate",
},
});
}
Server Actions (Next.js)
typescript
"use server";
import { neon } from "@neondatabase/serverless";
import { revalidatePath } from "next/cache";
export async function createUser(formData: FormData) {
const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!);
const name = formData.get("name") as string;
const email = formData.get("email") as string;
await sql`INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES (${name}, ${email})`;
revalidatePath("/users");
}
Connection Testing
typescript
async function testConnection() {
const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!);
try {
const result = await sql`SELECT version()`;
console.log("✅ Connected to Neon:", result[0].version);
return true;
} catch (error) {
console.error("❌ Connection failed:", error);
return false;
}
}
Troubleshooting
Connection Issues
typescript
// Check SSL requirement
const url = new URL(process.env.DATABASE_URL!);
if (!url.searchParams.has("sslmode")) {
url.searchParams.set("sslmode", "require");
}
// Verify endpoint type
// -pooler: For application queries
// direct: For migrations and admin tasks
// Test connectivity
import { neon } from "@neondatabase/serverless";
const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL!);
await sql`SELECT 1`; // Should succeed
Migration Failures
bash
# Use direct connection for migrations export DIRECT_URL="postgresql://...direct-endpoint..." npx prisma migrate deploy # Check migration status npx prisma migrate status # Force reset (dev only) npx prisma migrate reset
Performance Issues
typescript
// Enable query logging
import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/neon-http";
const db = drizzle(sql, { logger: true });
// Check slow queries in Neon console
// Monitoring → Query Performance
// Add indexes
await sql`CREATE INDEX idx_users_email ON users(email)`;
// Use connection pooling
// Ensure using -pooler endpoint
This skill provides comprehensive coverage of Neon serverless Postgres, including database branching, ORM integrations, serverless deployment patterns, and production best practices.